Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 277 - 276: Taking Advantage of the Old Bastard

Chapter 277: Chapter 276: Taking Advantage of the Old Bastard

Chen Shiying knew that what Chen Afu said was the truth. Wang Juanniang was poor and powerless, and was frail in temperament. If she were to marry into his family, his own mother would not be kind to her, and the daughter she bore would receive even worse treatment...

Every word stabbed like a needle, causing him to feel uncomfortable. He felt both embarrassed and ashamed, but he couldn’t let Chen Afu expose his mother’s deeds. Filial piety is one thing, but it would also greatly impact him and his family.

He struggled to say, "Fu’er, dad knows, dad is aware that your grandmother has done many bad things and caused discomfort to you and your mother. But no matter what, she is my mother and I cannot abandon her. Moreover, if her bad reputation were to spread, it would affect your and your sisters’ reputations. You have found a good family, but your sisters haven’t..."

The conversation between the father and daughter ended on an unhappy note, and Chen Shiying left to rest in the east wing guest room with a sigh.

At 9 p.m., Lu Garden fell completely silent and only then did Alu go to rest. Chen Afu suppressed her curiosity and did not follow to investigate.

As soon as dawn broke, Chen Afu got up and personally prepared breakfast in the kitchen. Because Chen Shiying had spent over ten years in Jiangnan and had a liking for sweet rice wine, Chen Afu made sweet rice wine eggs, steamed bun dumplings, and scallion pancakes.

At this time, Dabao still hadn’t woken up, and only Chen Afu and Chen Shiying were at breakfast. Chen Shiying looked grim and it was clear that he hadn’t had a good rest. He eagerly urged Chen Afu to eat, served her buns and pancakes, and asked her to treat Mrs. Wang well and to visit their family in the capital city often and chat with them.

Chen Afu also served him a bun and said, "Is this sweet rice wine to your liking? I heard you and mother like sweet rice wine, so I specially made extra and planned to have someone deliver it to you. Fortunately, you can take it back today."

Chen Shiying saw a hint of a smile on Chen Afu’s face and finally felt pleased. He said, "Dad is happy to have such a thoughtful daughter. Visit home more often to keep dad company; once you get married, you will have even less time for dad."

Chen Afu laughed and said, "Dad has several thoughtful daughters. Without me, there is still third sister and fourth sister."

"It’s different... you are dad’s first daughter and the closest to me," Chen Shiying said.

Chen Afu chuckled; this father of hers is quite skilled at flattery. She had noticed long ago that the way Chen Shiying looked at her and Chen Yulan was quite different from how he looked at his other daughters - his gaze held more warmth and affection.

After the meal, Chen Afu saw him off. Aside from bringing a few jars of sweet rice wine for him, she also brought some fresh vegetables and a few pounds of osmanthus glutinous rice jujube. She watched as his carriage receded into the distance.

Dabao had also awakened. After he finished his meal, she saw him off as well.

Chen Afu returned to her room, took two bolts of cloth and a jar of ginseng Soaking Wine, and went to Lu Garden. Both the cloth and Soaking Wine were gifts for Granny Chen.

Every time Chen Afu faced Mrs. Ding and Chen Shiying’s mother, she was reminded that Granny Chen was a good person. Despite her many flaws and exasperating habits, Granny Chen was a conscientious old lady. She had boundaries and principles to her actions, and never committed despicable deeds that could be criticized.

Mrs. Wang and Chen Ming were still eating breakfast. Just by their spirits, it was obvious that yesterday’s events had been handled very successfully. Chen Ming filled Chen Afu in on the details with a laugh, with Mrs. Wang chipping in.

They proposed to the Wangs that they could support Wang Laohan, but they could not support the despicable Mrs. Ding. If they divorced Mrs. Ding, then Wang’s family would give Wang Laohan one to two taels of retirement money each month.

Wang Laohan’s family agreed - they had long wished to divorce Mrs. Ding. Having such a nefarious woman with a bad reputation in the Wang family made it hard for the Wang daughters to find suitable in-laws.

However, Wang Laohan felt that the one to two taels per month was too little, being insufficient for him to eat meat every day. He wanted it raised to two taels before he would divorce Mrs. Ding. Chen Ming, however, didn’t want to give more, fearing that the excess money would be squandered by Wang Cai, who might even spend it on Mrs. Ding.

Hu Laowu, who didn’t consider himself an outsider, stayed in Lu Garden the whole time. He came up with a solution for Chen Ye - to use a few more taels of silver to find a shrewd concubine for Wang Laohan, and let the concubine manage the money. This way, they would be showing respect to Wang Laohan without allowing Wang Cai to get his hands on the extra money, and would also liven up the household.

Chen Ye and Chen Ming agreed that it was a good idea, and they decided to give an extra five taels of silver so the Wangs could find Wang Laohan a clever concubine. She could both take care of Wang Laohan’s daily life and manage his finances.

Upon hearing this, Wang Laohan was even happier and heartily agreed that it was high time he divorced the lazy, greedy, and wicked Mrs. Ding.

Chen Afu was pleased. Hu Laowu’s mind indeed worked better than hers at times, and this would certainly make the Wangs’ house more lively. However, this also seemed to be of considerable advantage to that selfish, shameless old rascal.

Mrs. Ding heard that she was to be divorced and wailed inconsolably. She even threatened to jump into a well, but two daughters-in-law from the Wang family tied her up, telling her to go back to Xianhu Village to commit suicide - that it would be better if she died.

In the beginning, Wang Cai also made a fuss. However, when Wang Laohan threatened to disown him and make him leave with Mrs. Ding, Wang Cai became afraid...

Mrs. Ding, this wicked old hag, was finally kicked out - she got her comeuppance. This served as a form of retribution for the injustice Wang Juanniang had suffered and avenged Wang Cheng’s wrongs.

When dealing with poorer and less influential families, they could easily solve problems with a bit of silver. Yet, that even more wicked Granny Chen was still enjoying the good life because she had a competent son protecting her...

Chen Afu was left feeling frustrated.

She heard Mrs. Wang say, "This time, Granny Chen, Uncle, Hu Laowu, and even my uncle from back home have all helped. Last night, your father already gave my uncle two taels of silver. Tonight, we plan to invite Uncle, his family, and Hu Laowu’s family to have dinner with us and also invite Mr. Zeng, Da Gui, Little Niu, and others to have drinks. We will also invite Manager Luo and his son over for some fun."

Chen Afu nodded and mentioned that they had seafood from Tang Garden at home. She suggested taking some of it to prepare a few dishes and to ask Qiu Yue to help Aunt Mu with the cooking.

Mrs. Wang said, "There is no need to bring Qiu Yue. Mrs. Gao and Aju can come to help. Aju is much more diligent now. After Mrs. Hu fell seriously ill, it seems to have refined Aju..."

She went on to say that Chen Aju’s prospects were brighter now and her standards for a husband-to-be had risen significantly. Many families had come to propose a match but Uncle and the others hadn’t approved of any, saying that they were now shareholders of a wine shop in the capital city and also owned a shop in the county town. Most importantly, they had now become in-laws with Mr. Chu and could not marry off their daughter to a rural peasant...

If she could also help Chen Aju find a good marriage through her connections, that wouldn’t be bad. Chen Afu reminded Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang to also give Granny Chen and Chen Ye a heads-up, not to look for families that were simply after the Chu family’s power. Finding such a family would be troublesome both for Chen Aju and the Chu family.

On the evening of the eighteenth day of the eighth month, Chu Lingxuan returned.

After dinner, the Old Marquis returned to Tang Garden and the children went to play in the west wing. Chu Lingxuan and Chen Afu were in the main room discussing Chu Hanyan’s birthday celebration plans.